Fiberglass

[werewolf]

Hey guys, i run across a 1999 Ranger 4x4 five speed manual trans. Around 180,000 miles with the 3.o v6. I bought it for 2,000 had my son check it out for me. I busted up my left leg & knee at work in Oct. still in a dang brace. Any it had some mud on it got the grandson to half ass wash it. and that the left bed finder has a crack down it about six inches it is what i call a step bed. So the dang bed is fiberglass. Is this real or after market. I have never read anywhere about a fiberglass bed. I have two other hangers 4.0's . Haven't had time to miss with it. But hiding in it with son driving it it sure don't have power like the 4.0.maybe good tuneup and change all the filters will help.

 

[chvlfrk]

Ummm............

Hey guys, i run across a 1999 Ranger 4x4 five speed manual trans. Around 180,000 miles with the 3.o v6. I bought it for 2,000 had my son check it out for me. I busted up my left leg & knee at work in Oct. still in a dang brace. Any it had some mud on it got the grandson to half ass wash it. and that the left bed finder has a crack down it about six inches it is what i call a step bed. So the dang bed is fiberglass. Is this real or after market. I have never read anywhere about a fiberglass bed. I have two other hangers 4.0's . Haven't had time to miss with it. But hiding in it with son driving it it sure don't have power like the 4.0.maybe good tuneup and change all the filters will help.

=====================
YES, Stepside Rangers have fiberglass bedsides.

The 3.0L isn't known for power, alotta guys refer to them as "3slow", but the 5spd should give you better get up & go than an auto, BUT nothing like a 4.0L.

GL with your new project!

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

All of the stepside beds, at least from 1993 on had fiberglass bedsides. I believe the box itself (the inside of the bed) is steel on those, but the outside is fiberglass. If it's just cracked, it shouldn't be overly hard to repair. Clean it on the backside of the crack really good then rough it up real good with coarse sandpaper and clean off the dust. Put a couple layers of fiberglass mat on it, use the fiberglass resin jelly so you don't have to deal with runs. Prime it and paint it good once the fiberglass cures to keep it from soaking up water. Then you can deal with the crack itself.

Sorry to hear about your knee, hope you recover soon! I just went through hip surgery.

3.0 is a bit short on power, but it's a motor that likes higher rpm's. If you want it to pick up better, run it in the 2,500-4,500 rpm range. I have a 2000 with 2wd, 3.0 and 5-speed with 3.73 gears and 235/75/15 tires, once I found the power band is higher, it was nicer to drive. Of course, then I moved to a 95 F-150 with the 4.9L I-6 (aka, the 300 straight six) for a work truck, which really is a truck that's not in a hurry, lol.


Sent from my kite using a trebuchet

 

[werewolf]

thanks

Thanks for the info, this is the first step side and 3.0 for me. my old 93 4.0 and my 2002 4.0 for a v6 they will get it dang good if you stand on them. and my dang 87 2.9 drives me nuts, i'll get it to where it runs dang good and then the next time i get in it runs like crap. It's like a game back and forth. but get this 3.0 tuned up new oil and filters. I hope to be out of this leg brace the end of the month. i'll play with fiberglass also. thanks this website is full of dang good info.